there is a language of lies used in our culture . that we all commonly accept with out questioning to much . my pet peeve is the word " several " . it looks and sounds like the number " 7 " , but it is meaningless because it could be any amount . people us the word " several " when they do not want to tell the truth . like when the garage tells you it will be several hundred dollars to get your car fixed and it will be done in several hours . can't you just feel the rage building up .
this is why people did not like the phone at first . it was the greatest tool for liars ever invented . now, as then you can not see who are you are talking to . you can not read their body language . it is always easier to lie to someone when you do not have to look them in the eye .
this is small potatoes compared to big business . the HMO that tells you they are cutting some services and raising your co-pay to better serve their customers . like simple and compound interest on loans and credit cards .
warranties are another huge lie . have you ever tried to get a company to honor their warranties . root canals are less painful . how about the rebates that never come . these are just a few examples of the lies we have to suffer every day from our corporate Friends .
let us not forget the U.S. government . lying is a rich and long tradition with these guys . the list is so long i will only cite one example . " no child left behind " this would be funny if it was not so sad . children are left behind everyday .
there is a big drug problem in the public schools , but no drug rehab programs in the schools . teachers are just now getting smart boards , class rooms are packed with 32 students . it is sufficient to say the kids have been left far behind .
so we live with the lies everyday . until we are so apathetic and cynical we do not believe much of anything, or anyone . i think that is the real damage . to get a society to the point where you can tell them anything and they just do not care . perhaps we can not handle the truth .
perhaps the contradictions are so great we could not function in society if we did not just ignore all the lies . and try and believe in something better . perhaps this is why we are alienated from one another . we have to build our own personal world , our own personal truth . perhaps we should just go back to burying our heads in the nice warm sand in own personal universe . now isn't that better.
Monday, July 30, 2007
Monday, July 23, 2007
scion of the suberbs or middle class hustler
Let's turn on the way-back machine . Back to 1975, when I believe that the single best benefit to the working man was passed by congress . The IRA . For the first time in the history of man , the common man or woman, by putting $2000.00 hard earned dollars into a IRA every year, could theoretically have a million dollars by the time they were 62 .
This has worked pretty well for most people . Unfortunately, it gave birth to the 401k in which employers have shifted the total responsibility for a pension to the employee and his 401k . This has had mixed results, but one result is most people cannot retire when they want to because their 401k goes up and down like a roller coaster, usually with the same physical sensations .
What was happening at the personal level? Well, when our parents bought a suburban split level in the suburbs in 1963 for $35,000, they watched over the next 20 years as their mortgage paid off the value of their home, soar to 4x times it's original value . Their wildest dreams come true. It was bitter sweet though. The home they raised their children in and had so many wonderful memories now became a golden goose for medicare if they went into a nursing home, or a ticket to a Florida retirement community . Such is life .
What about the baby boomers who were starting out in the 1970's? They were working like Hebrew slaves trying to keep up with inflation and high interest rates . All the young dudes with a pick-up truck and a smile were doing side jobs to supplement their income, picking up the last of the gravy train factory jobs , which unfortunately ran out of track rather abruptly in the 1990's causing a lot wreckage .
But we boomers still had our homes and our 401ks which in the gay 90's blossomed like a money tree . While our homes did not soar in value there was still some healthy equity there, which by the next decade had been borrowed out to pay off the credit cards that we had a pitiful addiction to. Which we used to purchase the life we thought we should have. Well all good things come to and end .
So where is the suburban person now? Since women have been so involved in the work force since the advent of the Pill and abortions - he and she have evolved up to am economic unit of one, where each has their investments and careers and their own lives as well as their married lives. The suburban persons life has now become a complex web of money and emotions as we pass into middle age, oh well it is lonely at the top .
Perhaps we should try and let go of the fantasy of who we think we are and start being who we really are. Perhaps we should try and reconnect with people on a personal level instead of a professional level, forget about padding our resumes, and look into each others eyes instead of looking into each others wallets.
This has worked pretty well for most people . Unfortunately, it gave birth to the 401k in which employers have shifted the total responsibility for a pension to the employee and his 401k . This has had mixed results, but one result is most people cannot retire when they want to because their 401k goes up and down like a roller coaster, usually with the same physical sensations .
What was happening at the personal level? Well, when our parents bought a suburban split level in the suburbs in 1963 for $35,000, they watched over the next 20 years as their mortgage paid off the value of their home, soar to 4x times it's original value . Their wildest dreams come true. It was bitter sweet though. The home they raised their children in and had so many wonderful memories now became a golden goose for medicare if they went into a nursing home, or a ticket to a Florida retirement community . Such is life .
What about the baby boomers who were starting out in the 1970's? They were working like Hebrew slaves trying to keep up with inflation and high interest rates . All the young dudes with a pick-up truck and a smile were doing side jobs to supplement their income, picking up the last of the gravy train factory jobs , which unfortunately ran out of track rather abruptly in the 1990's causing a lot wreckage .
But we boomers still had our homes and our 401ks which in the gay 90's blossomed like a money tree . While our homes did not soar in value there was still some healthy equity there, which by the next decade had been borrowed out to pay off the credit cards that we had a pitiful addiction to. Which we used to purchase the life we thought we should have. Well all good things come to and end .
So where is the suburban person now? Since women have been so involved in the work force since the advent of the Pill and abortions - he and she have evolved up to am economic unit of one, where each has their investments and careers and their own lives as well as their married lives. The suburban persons life has now become a complex web of money and emotions as we pass into middle age, oh well it is lonely at the top .
Perhaps we should try and let go of the fantasy of who we think we are and start being who we really are. Perhaps we should try and reconnect with people on a personal level instead of a professional level, forget about padding our resumes, and look into each others eyes instead of looking into each others wallets.
Sunday, July 15, 2007
raising the bar of decline
there was a time in America when people advanced themselves and their families thru hard work , risk taking and luck . this is the standared republican / conservative line . there is alot of truth in that belief , but it avoids a significant trend .
up until 1973 America had been in growth mode for 75 years . after that the industrial revolution ran out of steam . for the next 30 years we created a growth industry in building and finance . housing tracts , office parks and retirement communities . not factory's or warehouses . all that was sent over seas . that was fine because no one wanted a mind deading assembly line job that robbed one of their humanity . everyone was going to go to college and get an education . then they could have a professional career and make a positive contribution to America . it was a good idea that has worked in a lot of different fields . particulary medicine .
there are no clean deals though . when higher education became an industry on to itself . it became packaged and sold like any other industry . university's should be proud of the jargon and system that has developed for getting as many dollars as possible out of the pockets of students their parents and the government . for creating meaningless sport scholarships . that hold out a empty promise to minority youth . On the promise that at the end of the road their son or daughter would have a career that would make them much more money than the had spent . in some cases it is true , but sadly many people can not find a job in their field .
unfortunately most college and university students are forced to take many courses that have nothing to do with what they are majoring in. just to shake them down for more tuition , books and lab fees . taking a course means sitting in a large room or lecture hall with hundreds of other students . while a professor lectures from a text book he or she has written . no questions please . the professor is very busy .
taking courses on line has become a big industry too . reselling professors lectures . students buying course work and tests off the Internet . it is a capitalist dream come true . now for the bad news . America has an over abundance of over educated people . who make their living by going from one job to the next, padding their resumes with meaningless awards an achievements while climbing their career ladder .
education , corporations and health care are full of people who waste huge amounts of time having seminars , workshops and strategy meetings that find ways to shift responsibilities for problems , instead of finding solutions . no one wants to take responsibility . this is not surprising in our " i have issues culture ."
it is a race with no end . we have people in professions they have no passion for . we have hospital patients calling 911 from the emergency ward because no one will treat them , we have whole industries that do nothing but do studies an analysis on anything but real growth . maybe it is time we got out of the race and did something as an individual that is meaningful and profitable . maybe it is time we got our humanity back .
up until 1973 America had been in growth mode for 75 years . after that the industrial revolution ran out of steam . for the next 30 years we created a growth industry in building and finance . housing tracts , office parks and retirement communities . not factory's or warehouses . all that was sent over seas . that was fine because no one wanted a mind deading assembly line job that robbed one of their humanity . everyone was going to go to college and get an education . then they could have a professional career and make a positive contribution to America . it was a good idea that has worked in a lot of different fields . particulary medicine .
there are no clean deals though . when higher education became an industry on to itself . it became packaged and sold like any other industry . university's should be proud of the jargon and system that has developed for getting as many dollars as possible out of the pockets of students their parents and the government . for creating meaningless sport scholarships . that hold out a empty promise to minority youth . On the promise that at the end of the road their son or daughter would have a career that would make them much more money than the had spent . in some cases it is true , but sadly many people can not find a job in their field .
unfortunately most college and university students are forced to take many courses that have nothing to do with what they are majoring in. just to shake them down for more tuition , books and lab fees . taking a course means sitting in a large room or lecture hall with hundreds of other students . while a professor lectures from a text book he or she has written . no questions please . the professor is very busy .
taking courses on line has become a big industry too . reselling professors lectures . students buying course work and tests off the Internet . it is a capitalist dream come true . now for the bad news . America has an over abundance of over educated people . who make their living by going from one job to the next, padding their resumes with meaningless awards an achievements while climbing their career ladder .
education , corporations and health care are full of people who waste huge amounts of time having seminars , workshops and strategy meetings that find ways to shift responsibilities for problems , instead of finding solutions . no one wants to take responsibility . this is not surprising in our " i have issues culture ."
it is a race with no end . we have people in professions they have no passion for . we have hospital patients calling 911 from the emergency ward because no one will treat them , we have whole industries that do nothing but do studies an analysis on anything but real growth . maybe it is time we got out of the race and did something as an individual that is meaningful and profitable . maybe it is time we got our humanity back .
Monday, July 9, 2007
mirror mirror on the wall .
being a baby boomer is unique experience . the advertisers have told us so . the media is constantly showing us images of our selves . in doing so they shape our perception of our success or failure .
how much of our self esteem has been given to us by the advertising media . at one time they showed all of us walking around with cigarettes hanging out of mouths . did alot of boomers quit smoking for health reasons or because we were given a image of our selves as non-smokers .
we have been a generation constantly in search of ourselves . who we really are . have we accepted from the advertisers the belief that it is our career , the clothes we wear , the cars we drive the houses we live in , the golf vacations we have taken . that define us . we know longer try to keep up with the Jones , we are trying to keep up with the image we have been given of ourselves .this image is every where . in the sitcoms , the movies , and the newspapers and magazines .
i would suggest that we as a generation should step back and take a hard look at who we have become and why . maybe it is time to start living some of the ideals we talked about in the 1960s . it we easy in 1969 to talk about about phony materialism when we were young and had nothing . lets start talking about that now that we have all made it and have all we want . lets look in the mirror and see the truth .
how much of our self esteem has been given to us by the advertising media . at one time they showed all of us walking around with cigarettes hanging out of mouths . did alot of boomers quit smoking for health reasons or because we were given a image of our selves as non-smokers .
we have been a generation constantly in search of ourselves . who we really are . have we accepted from the advertisers the belief that it is our career , the clothes we wear , the cars we drive the houses we live in , the golf vacations we have taken . that define us . we know longer try to keep up with the Jones , we are trying to keep up with the image we have been given of ourselves .this image is every where . in the sitcoms , the movies , and the newspapers and magazines .
i would suggest that we as a generation should step back and take a hard look at who we have become and why . maybe it is time to start living some of the ideals we talked about in the 1960s . it we easy in 1969 to talk about about phony materialism when we were young and had nothing . lets start talking about that now that we have all made it and have all we want . lets look in the mirror and see the truth .
Sunday, July 1, 2007
walmart vs the mall
wal-mart vs the mall Where did it all begin ? Walmart vs the mall . Let's turn on the 'way back' machine . It is 1976 and cable TV has just gone nation wide. Now courtesy of Ted Turner, we can watch 24-hour TV , 24/7 news and sports and reruns of Bewitched at 4:00 am in the morning. America - what a country !
Of course with this orgy of TV came 24/7 commercials and with all that advertising came the huge expansion of retail space. Hence the mall, which began the era of "build it and they will come ". Suburban sprawl exploded. More TVs , more commercials , more malls and more suburban housing tracts. This was America by 1980 and the growth never stopped . Now the housing and land development has replaced the lost manufacturing as Americas number one industry. Build it and pray that they buy.I
am sure we all know there are no clean deals . There has been one problem with all this wonderful expansion. In 2007 there is 20.5 square feet of retail space for every American as compared to 2.5 for Europeans. The jargon of retailers is precise. The mall is impulse shopping. Walmart is destination shopping. The problem with the malls (with the exception of Sears) is the malls do not sell useful items. The malls sell clothes , purses , shoes and oh yes atmosphere . We should all be impressed by the amount of money that is spent in an effort to create an atmosphere that encourages impulse shopping. Another surprising fact is that advertisers and developers use marketing firms that use psychologists to help them create advertisements and environments that pull all of our emotional triggers. We have been brain washed into shopping. Clean minds and cleaned out pockets.
The whole advertising culture has morphed into creating messages that make you feel good about a product or service whether you need it or not. Ever notice all the advertisements seldom show anyone using the product or service. Just people talking about how good the product or service makes them feel, while sitting in settings that are decorated in early rich with plenty of diffused sunlight creating a glow. Ahh, I feel better already.
This is where Walmart comes in among all this bliss and gratitude for the American way of life. Americans began to feel the pinch of higher gasoline prices and utilities . Hello Walmart! So many useful items and so cheap. It has become America's dirty little secret. Buy your clothes at the mall and everything else at Walmart.
Unfortunately, again there are no clean deals in the land of plenty. To do this Wal-mart has to run a warehouse on wheels and those little fellers in China have to eat our inflation by working for 50 cents an hour . It's OK the Mexicans ate our inflation for less. So what happens when diesel fuel is $7.00 a gallon and the Chinese are making $1.00 an hour? What happens when the emotional triggers of heat and eat are being pulled daily? The fantasy land of mall shopping may become history and memories. What will happen to the malls when the price of designer clothes triples and the Bon-Ton says bye-bye?
I think the malls will then be turned into useful places. They really have such a marvelous atmosphere .
Of course with this orgy of TV came 24/7 commercials and with all that advertising came the huge expansion of retail space. Hence the mall, which began the era of "build it and they will come ". Suburban sprawl exploded. More TVs , more commercials , more malls and more suburban housing tracts. This was America by 1980 and the growth never stopped . Now the housing and land development has replaced the lost manufacturing as Americas number one industry. Build it and pray that they buy.I
am sure we all know there are no clean deals . There has been one problem with all this wonderful expansion. In 2007 there is 20.5 square feet of retail space for every American as compared to 2.5 for Europeans. The jargon of retailers is precise. The mall is impulse shopping. Walmart is destination shopping. The problem with the malls (with the exception of Sears) is the malls do not sell useful items. The malls sell clothes , purses , shoes and oh yes atmosphere . We should all be impressed by the amount of money that is spent in an effort to create an atmosphere that encourages impulse shopping. Another surprising fact is that advertisers and developers use marketing firms that use psychologists to help them create advertisements and environments that pull all of our emotional triggers. We have been brain washed into shopping. Clean minds and cleaned out pockets.
The whole advertising culture has morphed into creating messages that make you feel good about a product or service whether you need it or not. Ever notice all the advertisements seldom show anyone using the product or service. Just people talking about how good the product or service makes them feel, while sitting in settings that are decorated in early rich with plenty of diffused sunlight creating a glow. Ahh, I feel better already.
This is where Walmart comes in among all this bliss and gratitude for the American way of life. Americans began to feel the pinch of higher gasoline prices and utilities . Hello Walmart! So many useful items and so cheap. It has become America's dirty little secret. Buy your clothes at the mall and everything else at Walmart.
Unfortunately, again there are no clean deals in the land of plenty. To do this Wal-mart has to run a warehouse on wheels and those little fellers in China have to eat our inflation by working for 50 cents an hour . It's OK the Mexicans ate our inflation for less. So what happens when diesel fuel is $7.00 a gallon and the Chinese are making $1.00 an hour? What happens when the emotional triggers of heat and eat are being pulled daily? The fantasy land of mall shopping may become history and memories. What will happen to the malls when the price of designer clothes triples and the Bon-Ton says bye-bye?
I think the malls will then be turned into useful places. They really have such a marvelous atmosphere .
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
